"Beethoven of Japan" Mamoru Samuragochi Admits to Hiring Ghost Writer and Not Being Deaf

Composer Mamoru Samuragochi is widely known as the "Beethoven of Japan" due to his apparent ability to write music despite losing his hearing. As of late, this nickname has been called into question, though, following his revelation that he employed a ghost writer during much of career. Now, Samuragochi has also admitted that he's no longer deaf via a handwritten apology.

Samuragochi has been credited with the music for videogames like Resident Evil and Onimusha: Warlords, and he's known for his tribute symphony to the victims of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Earlier this month, however, he confessed that he has been working with ghost writer Takashi Niigaki for close to 20 years.

"I started hiring the person to compose music for me around 1996, when I was asked to make movie music for the first time," Samuragochi said in the eight-page statement distributed to the media. "I had to ask the person to help me for more than half the work because the ear condition got worse."

When Niigaki spoke out at a press conference last Thursday (February 6), he added that he questioned whether Samuragochi is actually deaf. Now, Samuragochi has confirmed these suspicions.

"The truth is that recently I have begun to hear a little again," Samuragochi revealed. "It has recovered to an extent where I could sometimes grasp words when someone speaks clearly and slowly close to my ears, though it sounds muffled and skewed."

Samuragochi will reportedly have his hearing tested to see whether he qualifies for his disability certificate.